


Winter is Coming Omega

by Rjslpets



Series: An Avenging Omega [6]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternative Universe-Pack, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Pack Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-10
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-14 07:47:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7160624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rjslpets/pseuds/Rjslpets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the aftermath of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the Pack deals with the fallout. Steve is wounded, Sam is still being swept along and Tony is furious. Omega Brain has murder on its mind - but what else is new?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hate With the Power of a Thousand Suns

**Author's Note:**

> OK - I have made some significant changes to the end of the Winter Soldier. In my universe, it ends with Steve wounded in the hospital and no one having any discussions with Fury. I also ignored the whole committee scene because I cannot stand the fact that NO ONE at Marvel or apparently in the US film business has any understanding of how the government works at even a 6th grade level. 
> 
> So, our story picks up with Steve in the hospital since I would think even a super soldier would be out for awhile after all that fighting.
> 
> BTW - Omega Brain is back!

Sam sat by Steve’s bed and waited. The hospital had put Steve in a pack room although there was no sign of the Avengers Pack. There wasn’t much that medical science could do for the super soldier and the doctors had told Sam that the serum would just have to work at its own pace.  The nurses came and went, mostly emptying IVs; Steve’s appetite was even more all-consuming as his body worked on fixing his injuries. He still hadn’t regained consciousness, but again the doctors remained unconcerned. So Sam sat by his friend’s bed and watched the fallout on the TV. Actually, it was nice to have some time to relax and catch his breath. His life had spiraled out of his control since meeting this guy running on the Mall. But he felt alive and connected as he hadn’t since he lost his best friend in desert skies. When Steve woke up, Sam knew that he would follow him out of this hospital and on the trail of the Winter Soldier who might, or might not, be Bucky Barnes.

His quiet vigil was broken on the fourth day, the day Steve began to show signs of returning to consciousness. A man in rumpled clothing and a lab coat walked into the room, speaking back over his shoulder, “Please stay out there until I say you can come in!” His shoulders were hunched and his entire demeanor projected a desire to not be noticed. But that was contradicted by the authority of his speech. He looked at Sam and said without any fanfare, “You need to leave right now.” Sam got up to argue, but the man held up his hand and said, “I am already upset and you really don’t want to see me angry.”

Sam really looked at the nondescript man and thought he saw a faint green tinge to his skin and realized that Bruce Banner, the Hulk, was standing in front of him. So the Avengers Pack had finally shown up. He left the room, understanding that the man needed time with his Alpha, only to be confronted with the red and gold figure that was Iron Man with a repulsor aimed at his face.

“I think that is Sam Wilson – the one that Natasha told us about.” The voice behind him was definitely Dr. Banner’s. It was placating in tone as if the situation was very volatile. Sam wondered what was going on if the man who contained the Hulk felt the need to pacify Ironman.

“Move!” was all Iron Man snarled and then he was gone through into the room and the door shut and the pack shielding came up.

“I’m sorry about the abruptness.” Sam turned to look at Dr. Banner who was settling himself into a chair in front of the room. “But Tony has been almost impossible to contain in New York for this entire fiasco. Frankly, it was all I could do to make sure he let Thor and I escort him down here.”

At this point, Sam saw Natasha coming down the hallway towards them. Her step hitched slightly when she saw Bruce. “How angry is he?” she asked.

“Furious. I think equally at both of you. I had to call in the Big Guy to keep him in the Tower. By the way, I am not happy about being in the position of opposing Tony. Especially as I don’t agree with Steve’s decision to refuse to have us down here. Tony has been frantic.” Sam watched Natasha bow her head. He didn’t know what the Avenger Pack was like but Tony Stark was obviously a force to be reckoned with. He would have to be to have such a strong influence on a Pack when Captain America/the infinitely stubborn Steve Rogers was Alpha.

“Tony found and got Clint out as well as a number of other agents. He was able to coordinate with Maria Hill to contain a lot of the damage.” Bruce said to Natasha. Clearly, this statement meant something meaningful to the spy, as even Sam could see her shoulders relax from a tension he hadn’t even known was there. “But there were…complications.” the doctor added.

 

Tony barely let the door seal before he walked out of the suit. He stripped off his t-shirt and clambered up on the large bed beside his Alpha. His wounded Alpha, who had, like an ass, refused to allow his Omega to come help. Tony was going to kill Steve once he was all healed up. He slide himself down the younger man’s side and arranged himself so that the scent glands at the back of his neck were as close to the Alpha’s nose as he could get them. Tony knew that the pheromones from his glands were already saturating the air. Distressed by his exclusion and then panicked when news footage of Steve’s fall into the Potomac aired, he had been pumping scent into the air for days. The ventilation systems in the Tower had barely been able to keep up and it had triggered several Hulk outs until Tony had just given up and spent all his time in the Playroom. Now, surrounded by his own scent and the scent of his Alpha, Tony settled in to wait, fury simmering.

Tony felt the change in the breathing in the chest below his head about an hour later. It was another 15 minutes until he felt lips on the back of his neck. Steve was not truly marking him, Tony knew, merely tasting his glands to intensify the sensation of having the Omega near him. When the lips moved away, Tony lifted himself up and reached for the water on the side of the bed. They both had a lot of experience with waking up in hospitals and dry mouth was always the first sensation. He held up the straw in the cup for Steve to drink from and then settled back against his chest after the super solider had finished drinking with his face pointedly turned away from Steve.

“You are really angry at me aren’t you?” Tony refused to look at Steve. “Tony, I know you understand why I asked you to stay away once I realized what was happening. You would have killed him and I couldn’t face that.”

“Because he is your Omega?”

“Tony, no!  He is my best friend and I just couldn’t have…”

“Me kill him which I would have done for throwing my Alpha off a goddam helicarrier into the Potomac!” Tony’s voice rose into a shout that brought both Bruce and Natasha into the room. Tony swung around to face them, although he did not leave the bed and kept physical contact with Steve. He looked at Natasha and growled. Realizing that the Omega was on the verge of going feral, both Natasha and Bruce bowed their heads signaling submission.

“And don’t think I am happy with you either, Natasha. I promised I would back you against anyone and when push came to shove, you didn’t trust me. You just left me with the fall out. And you put Clint in danger. If I hadn’t set JARVIS to watch, I would have missed the window to pull him out unharmed! Not to mention how hard this was for Bruce! I didn’t object when you said that you needed to be down here and I listened when you begged me to stay in New York, but you, Steve Rogers, have used up all my patience and my understanding at this moment.” The Omega snarled, swinging around to the Alpha. “Now, we are going to transfer you back to New York because I will not be stuck in the suit every time I want walk somewhere other than this room.”

Neither Steve nor Natasha raised an objection. Steve heard the barely concealed terror and fury in Tony’s voice and cursed silently to himself. Tony was outside Pack territory with a wounded Alpha and an unstable political situation, it was frankly amazing that he wasn’t completely feral – shooting anything that moved and wasn’t Pack. The safest thing to do was to get back to pack territory as soon as possible and wait until he was fully healed before addressing his Omega’s anger and fear.

Bruce spoke up at that point, head still submissively bent, “Pepper has arranged a private medical transfer from here to Tony’s jet and from there, we can fly to the Tower. We should be leaving in about an hour.”

Steve started to say something and then subsided as he heard a growl from the Omega still curled up against him. It was a clear warning that the Omega was, as he had stated, at the end of his rope. There was a long silence which was broken, surprisingly, by Tony saying in a fairly calm voice,” Who was the person outside, the one who has been sitting with you? I can smell him on you.”

Actually relieved that his Omega was speaking to him, Steve told Tony about meeting Sam. He talked about the VA center and the way Sam had stuck with him and helped him. Natasha added her observations about Sam, his character and history. Tony looked interested at a description of the wings; the first time he had something other than rage on his face since he had walked out of the armor.

“Is he Pack?” asked Tony, interrupting Steve. Steve paused, somewhat uncertainly. He really liked Sam and, if there had been no Tony to consult, Steve thought he might have offered Sam a Pack bond. “Let me rephrase, do you plan to offer him a place in the Pack?” Tony was sounding impatient now. “If you are, we only have about 30 minutes before we leave, so he better come in and let me scent him.”

The Pack stared at Tony as they digested this. Obviously, the Omega needed to decide if he liked Sam before Sam could enter the Pack. Generally, however, these types of introductions were more formal and there would be quite a period before the potential member would be allowed in the Omega’s presence and only in Pack territory. Now, they had an Omega out of his territory and on the verge of going feral. They were caught between not wanting to do anything to push the Omega and not really wanting to have a stranger in the room. Of course, Tony never acted like a traditional omega. “Now!” that was definitely a snarl. Bruce slipped out the door and found Sam in the corridor. “Our Omega wants to meet you and it has to be now as we are leaving for New York in less than an hour. I know that it seems abrupt but he isn’t a traditional Omega and, frankly, none of us want to make him any angrier than he already is.”

Sam, confronted by a Hulk who was apparently afraid of his Omega said the first thing in his head, “Ironman is the Pack Omega?” and then realized how tactless that was in response to the invitation. He could practically feel his mother’s hand strike the back of his head. “I would be honored to meet your Omega and be considered for a Pack Bond.” Sam’s mother and father had raised him to be polite.

Bruce gave him a quick, shy smile and led him into the hospital room. Sam noticed Natasha and had a moment to wonder at her submissive posture before Tony spoke. “Get over here! I can’t scent you from across the damm room!”

The Omega was draped across Steve’s chest; Sam realized that he was maximizing his contact with his Alpha. The entire room reeked of upset omega scent. Almost instinctively, Sam removed his scent guards, dropped his chin to his chest, hunched his shoulders, and approached the Omega in this submissive pose. Tony sat up with Steve rising behind him to lean into his back protectively. Now that Steve had spent some time with his Omega, his protective instincts were rising – obviously, intensified by Tony’s anger and distress. Tony leaned forward and sniffed at Sam’s neck glands and leaned back into Steve. “I like him. He can come. We are leaving in about 30 minutes; let me know if you need anything from your place here. I will arrange for JARVIS to have someone pack it up and send it.”

Before Sam could respond to this peremptory invitation/order, the door swung open. Bruce and Natasha both spun around, instantly on the alert. They both relaxed when the door closed behind an enormous blonde man, carrying, of all things, a hammer. The giant boomed out, “Omega Anthony, the transport for our leader has arrived.” He then looked at Steve and added, “Friend and Alpha Steve, it is good to see you recovering. The dishonorable actions of SHIELD and this foul HYDRA shall be avenged!”

Sam realized that this must be Thor and that, in spite of everything Steve had told him, he was not prepared for the sheer _presence_ of the Asgardian. He watched as Tony went back into his armor and realized that all scent of Omega had immediately vanished, pulled out by the powerful scent neutralizers on the room’s ventilation system. He could now understand how Tony could move around as Ironman if the armor was so effective at masking scent. Thor scooped Steve off the bed – Tony snarling when Steve tried to object. Sam smirked at the odd picture they must make as they headed down to the transport and left for Tony’s jet.

Once everyone was in the transport, Tony launched himself skyward, followed closely by Thor. He was actually too upset to stay in the transport, especially since he was stuck in the armor. From the air, he and Thor could watch for anything suspicious (like one-armed assassins).  Tony sighed. He did understand how important Bucky was to Steve and that Steve was going to find him (if indeed this Winter Solider was Barnes) come hell or high water. And Tony would have to figure out how to deal with that especially as Omega Brain hated the Winter Soldier with the power of a thousand suns.


	2. Vengence and Ham Sandwiches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short scene from the plane as they head back to New York. Steve is sleeping, Sam is watching, Bruce and Natasha are trying to calm Tony and Omega Brain still wants to kill people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of people have asked me about Bucky Barnes but he probably won't appear in this story. I really disliked AoU and have no desire to write a fic about that time so I probably will skip to Civil War. 
> 
> Then again, maybe I will relax with some fun short stories? I am open to prompts or suggestions?

Tony shed his armor in relief when the jet took off. Other than Sam, there was no non-Pack on the plane so the Omega could be out of the armor. He loved his armor, he did. But there was a difference between wearing it for fighting or the sheer love of flying and wearing it to distance himself from the world. He had been Omega of the Avengers Pack for over a year now and, for the most part, he had embraced his role. But the restrictions on his movements could still irk him, especially when he was as off-balance as he was right now. Inside his mind, he felt Omega Brain – anger unabated, thirst for vengeance voracious – and breathed deep trying to hold on to rationale thought.

There were many things he needed to do as Omega. He needed to apologize somehow to Bruce who he had put through hell. Bruce had carefully and patiently put up with his increasing anxiety; prevented him from breaking protocol and just leaving the Tower; and, not least, brought out the Green Guy to distract him. He also should probably apologize to Thor who had been called from his beloved Jane when Tony had insisted on flying to D.C. to see Steve. Clint would need attention as he dealt with the dissolution and betrayal of an institution that he had always regarded as a shelter. And of course, something would have to be done about Agent. That revelation had shattered Clint’s composure when he had realized that Coulson was alive and still working on a secret SHIELD team (curse Fury’s deviousness!).

Natasha, what was he going to do about Natasha? He was furious with her and he felt betrayed. He needed to get over this emotional hump and forgive her somehow. Their relationship had progressed significantly since their first conversation about him becoming Omega, but these events would undo all of that if he let them. Perhaps when he spoke to her, she could explain her actions in a way that would not be a rejection of the help he offered her. And he would have to speak with her – even now he could tell that she was deeply unhappy. SHIELD had been important to her and to know that it was a lie she served had to be devastating. And who else was going to tell her about Coulson?

His eyes happen to fall on Sam at this point. And immediately his brain whirled off on another tangent. What was he to do with the winged guy? He hadn’t lied when he said that Sam smelled good to him and he was fine with him being in the Pack. But he had never added someone to a Pack before. He would have to call Wasserman or talk to Steve…

Steve – now that was another mess. He was furious at Steve – so angry he had been unable to look at him in the hospital and was barely containing himself now. But the Alpha needed him; he could feel it pulling on him. Steve had been betrayed and was probably reeling from whatever it was that happened with that person on the helicarrier. Tony heard himself growl at the memory of the fight. No one had ever mentioned this aspect of being Omega and Tony was having a hard time dealing with all these emotions. He never dealt with emotion well – although he had worked on that over the last year. But these feelings of fear and, well, murderous rage were well beyond his experience. He was not sure that he could ever forgive anyone who hurt his Alpha so.

But Steve would undoubtedly seek out the Winter Solider and, if it turned out to really be Bucky Barnes, Steve would bring him to the Pack. Tony would have to find a way to come to a compromise with Steve since he was fairly sure that having whoever that man was in his territory was not on, at least not in the foreseeable future. Bucky Barnes had been the Omega of the Howling Commandos and the other half of the incomparable duo his father had always raved about. Omega Brain snarled with fury in the back of his head and Tony briefly wondered if this was similar to what Bruce felt all the time. He needed to speak to Steve to clarify and resolve the situation but until Steve was healed, there would be no resolution. And Steve needed time; even for a super solider the fight on the helicarriers had been brutal.

Sam watched Tony pace back and forth. The Avengers Pack seemed to feel that the Omega needed space or were too wise to interrupt the seething man. Natasha had vanished into the cockpit to greet the pilot who Sam guessed was the ‘Clint’ Banner had mentioned. Steve had slipped into sleep once he was settled in one of the beds at the back of the jet. Dr. Banner was just sitting and watching the pacing – perhaps too exhausted to deal further with the upset Omega. The blonde giant, Thor, was not in the jet. He apparently was heading somewhere else, having only come to escort Tony Stark to pick up his wounded Alpha.

Finally, Dr. Banner stood up and intercepted the Omega. “Tony, you need to eat something and I need you to calm down. You know how I feel about plane rides and your pacing is not helping.” His voice was calm and soothing. Sam watched Tony stroke his hand down the side of Dr. Banner’s face in what was obviously a familiar gesture. He suddenly noticed that Natasha had come back in to the cabin at some point and was sitting at the table in the corner with a stack of sandwiches. Sam wasn’t surprised that he hadn’t noticed her come in, but how had she ninja’d the sandwiches?

Tony allowed Bruce to lead him to the table and seat him next to Natasha. If Bruce asked him to sit and eat, Tony was going to indulge him. He sighed as he looked at the sandwiches in front of Natasha. He wasn’t sure that he felt happy enough with her to allow her to feed him. But it was a tradition between them that went all the way back to induction. And Tony knew that she had planned this to try and bridge the distance between them that his anger had produced. If he refused the food she would offer, he would be rejecting her and Tony wasn’t angry enough to do that. He sighed again, but leaned forward and nipped at the sandwich she was holding delicately in her hand.  “I am still furious with you.” He stated tersely, although he was aware that the fact was undermined by the fact that she was hand feeding him. It was an excellent sandwich, ham and cheese with mustard and those little pickles he liked. Bruce was offering the drink and Tony knew that the Pack was probably going to be hand feeding him for days to try and calm him down. They were both being submissive too. The problem was – it wasn’t helping all that much. Tony driven by Omega Brain really wanted to fight with his Alpha. But his Alpha was wounded. Tony jumped up from the table.

Sam had been in Packs most of his life and currently was bonded lightly to at least two Packs, and his family pack had an Omega in his mother. So he had a lot of experience with Pack and Omega relations. There was an emotional storm swirling in the plane and it was centered on Stark who, if he wasn’t feral, was very close. He wished that Steve had mentioned that he had an Omega; it would have let Sam prepare a little better for the emotional mess that he was now in the middle of.  Sam watched both Banner and Natasha hand feed the Omega, but it only calmed him a little while. When the sandwich was finished, Stark launched himself from the table. Sam held his breathe, along with everyone else on the plane, until the Omega tucked himself in with his Alpha where he stayed until the flight landed.

Natasha looked at Bruce. Bruce shrugged and said “I don’t think there is much we can do at this point.” Bruce polished his glasses nervously. “Tony is angry and he is going to stay angry until Steve and he can have it out and that is not going to be for at least a week, even with Steve’s healing ability.”

Natasha sighed. She had to plan her apologies; she was not good at spontaneity and Tony would need a real emotional response from her. Since becoming Omega, he had become annoyingly good at detecting her evasions, at least on an emotional level. And then there was something wrong with Clint. He had refused to discuss it, saying that Tony would tell her. She recognized this tactic; Clint used to use Coulson to tell her things Clint found too upsetting. She was not good at sorting through emotional storms when she was one of the participants as opposed to an outside manipulator. At least Tony had let her feed him; she had fully expected him to simply reject her efforts until he was calm. She was annoyed at Steve as well; she had argued for calling for Pack help. But there had been no chance of that once Steve had realized the Winter Soldier was Barnes. That was probably a good thing, Natasha reflected, as she wasn’t sure how Tony would have reacted when faced with his Alpha’s former Omega. Not well, judging by his current state. What the hell would the Pack do now?


	3. Bruce's Favorite Coping Mechanism

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is finally healed enough to take stock of the situation and Bruce updates him on some major developments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK - I just want to warn everyone that the chapters are going to be a little short for the next few as that works better with the narrative. There are a lot of threads coming together. Also, Omega Brain will not be making an appearance in this chapter. It is sulking, I mean, sleeping.
> 
> Thank you again for the comments and the kudos. I can't believe that Operation: Annoy Fury went over 10k hits!

Steve woke up more slowly than he normally did. The amount of healing that his body had done in the wake of the fight with the Winter Solider had left him sleeping far more than usual. He barely remembered the trip to the Tower or collapsing to sleep in his rooms. But he felt better now; his body was almost completely healed and, if Steve fed it sufficiently, another 24 hours should see him back in the peak of condition. Even before he opened his eyes, he was aware that Tony was sleeping on his chest; the comforting Omega scent was strong in his nostrils. Although, Steve noted wryly, there was still an underlying tension – Tony’s anger was unresolved and as strong as ever.

Steve sighed. He was not looking forward to fighting with the Omega, but once he was healed, he knew that Tony would have to be mollified. He still was confident in his decision to tell the rest of the Pack to stay away during the events in Washington, but he knew that Tony was furious at being made to stay in the Tower. It would not be the first time they had fought about Steve’s decisions and it would not be the last. Normally, however, Tony was not as close to feral as he was now. Steve frowned at the flatness in the Omega’s scent. In the hospital room, he had seen the submissive attitude of the Pack members and even Sam. Tony needed to fight with Steve, not only because they needed to discuss their differences, but because he needed to release that anger before he became irrational. But Steve needed time to sort out what he wanted before he could possibly fight with Tony. Tony was his Omega – the anchor that held him to the Avenger Pack and the current time.

Then there was Bucky. Even now, Steve could hardly believe that Bucky was alive. As they fought, he had tried desperately to catch his scent, to see if Bucky still held the scent of an Omega. The uniform he was wearing covered all his glands and probably blocked his scent as well, since Steve had gotten nothing. Deep inside himself, Steve was ashamed that he had even tried; Tony was his Omega now and Steve was Alpha of the Avenger Pack. The Howling Commando Pack was gone in the flow of time and Steve had grieved this already. But now the wound had reopened. He knew that he was leaking neediness and he knew that Tony would cater to that need before anything. Selfishly, he hoped to delay their discussion until he had some idea of what he intended to do, other than going after Bucky.

Opening his eyes and looking around his room, he immediately saw one thing he wasn’t expecting. His shield was leaning against the wall near the bed. Steve was pretty sure that he had last seen it falling into the Potomac.

“Tony went diving after it when he got to Washington. Thor thought he had gone insane for a moment. But Tony had apparently pinpointed from the news coverage where the shield was. He had Thor bring it to the jet before we went to the hospital.” Bruce said from where he was seated in a corner of the room.

“How did you get watching duty?” asked Steve, idly. He would have expected Bruce to be in the lab as his work had been interrupted for so long. He would have thought Clint would be watching; it was what the man did after all.

“Tony is still mad at Natasha, he sent her out of the room yesterday; Thor went back to Jane; and Clint is too upset.”

“What happened to Clint?” Clint should’ve been uninvolved in the events of the past few weeks. He had been on a long-term mission; Steve spared the thought that it was a good thing that he had gotten back before Natasha spilled all of SHIELD’s secrets onto the Internet. He bit back a groan as he thought of the good agents who were undercover and now were exposed with no backup.

“Tony was going through the document dump, trying to identify and get to good agents before they were made.” Noticing Steve’s interest, Bruce added, “He has extracted most of them I think. It’s a good think SI is an international company. Anyway, Tony was going through the document dump and it turns out Coulson is alive.” Steve’s mind stuttered for a moment. Coulson was alive? That son of a bitch, Fury – he had set them all up. But…”How could he have done that to Clint?” Not Fury, Coulson – how could Coulson have abandoned Clint like that?

“It’s been bad here. Tony is barely hanging on to rationality and Clint is walking around like a zombie.” Steve realized that he owed Bruce a considerable apology for leaving the scientist with the worst of a range of awful jobs. Just the first of many apologies apparently. He would have to apologize to Natasha for putting her at odds with Tony (although in a small part of his Alpha soul, Steve could admit that he would feel better as Tony and Natasha’s relationship worsened; but he knew better than to give in to that selfish instinct). Finally, there was Clint and the other agents he had helped to expose to their detriment. “I am sorry Bruce. I was just so scared about what Tony would do. I know that it seems crazy, but Bucky is my best friend.”

Bruce raised his eyebrows at the tense, “And your first Omega. You couldn’t have caused Tony more distress if you tried. I don’t know how you are going to fix this, but you really need to. Tony, at the hospital, he was seconds away from just shooting people. I don’t know what you are planning to do about your friend, but you need Tony on board and, right now, he is not.”

Steve sighed. He needed to find Bucky, but he needed Tony to help him. And Tony, well, that pointed comment about Bucky being Steve’s Omega had not come out of nowhere. Tony was a superb Omega – one of the strongest that Steve had ever seen. But Bucky had been Steve’s world for his whole life, only the few months before the plane went into the ice and the few years after did not have Bucky.  When he had seen the face of the Winter Soldier and realized that it was Bucky, for a moment, in the midst of chaos, he was incandescent with happiness. Bucky was back! Only, that had given way to shock and horror as he realized that Bucky didn’t remember Steve.

Right now, Steve realized there was nothing that he could do about Bucky. He needed to heal and to help the Pack. He had apologized to Bruce and that was a good first step. At least everyone was safe and back in the pack quarters. Maybe Sam could be a good way to start calming Tony down; it would be the first time that Tony had brought anyone into the Pack. Working with Tony to determine their new tradition to bring people into the Pack would build a bridge between them. As he thought, Steve’s hands began to caress the Omega; he only became aware of his actions as the sleeping Omega cuddled closer. There was a little softening in the Omega’s scent. He began to sweep his wrist glands over Tony’s skin, coating him in the scent of his Alpha.

Bruce was watching him, “That isn’t going to work for very long, Steve. You are going to have to actually discuss this at some point.”

Steve continued his touches, “I know Bruce. But it will be easier if Tony isn’t so close to being feral.”  Bruce shrugged and, seeing that his patient no longer needed his attention, he headed back to his lab. Removing himself from upsetting situations was one of Bruce’s favorite coping mechanisms.  


	4. Matzah Brei in India

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few days have gone by and the Avengers Pack gathers for a nice brunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK - before you get mad at me, I am warning you that this is a short chapter and I will have more up this weekend.
> 
> Thank you again for your comments and kudos. I especially like the potential endings you guys are coming up with!

The main floor of the Pack quarters at Avengers Tower was sweet and Sam was enjoying himself. The open sweeping space appealed to him, as did the never empty fridge and the bots that did all the cleaning. Or at least, he was enjoying it as much as the presence of a pissed-off Omega would allow. Everyone else in the Tower was walking on eggshells because of Stark. Sam would have sworn that nothing could intimidate Natasha, but after the last few days, he could now say with certainty that an angry Omega did. He had actually talked to Natasha about the whole situation, offering when he realized that she had never been around an Omega prior to the Avengers Pack. He had told her about his birth pack and the role that his mother played. His mother had never come as near to feral as Stark, but there were some incidents in Sam’s adolescence that had brought her close. Natasha had been fascinated by his stories and asked him about other aspects of pack life.

Sam of course realized that there was a secondary motive to her interest. Their discussions were almost always in the presence of Clint Barton. The man…Sam could not figure him out. He was quiet to the point of being silent and seemed to spend an abnormal amount of time almost obsessively shooting arrows at the tower’s shooting range. And this behavior obviously wasn’t normal. Every time everyone was together, there were obvious gaps in the conversation where the rest of the pack seemed to expect Barton to chime in, and he didn’t. The only time that Sam had seen him talkative was when Sam walked in on him and Stark in the kitchen in the middle of the night. It had also been one of the rare times that he had seen Stark away from Steve. He ducked out of the kitchen quickly as he realized that Stark was acting as the Omega and he shouldn’t be there.

Banner, Sam decided, was just a quiet man and an obsessive scientist. For someone who was also what Stark called ‘the jolly green giant,’ the man barely registered when he was in the room. His whole body language just screamed to have everyone ignore him. Until you got him talking about science; then his whole aspect changed and that Sam suspected was who Bruce Banner was. That person was assertive and confident, brushing off Stark’s attempts to challenge him with barely an effort. Of course, Sam had only been treated to that view of the scientist in the last day or so, once Steve was up and moving about the tower.

And then there was the interaction between the Omega and Steve. And what he saw there worried him. Stark had himself under iron (no pun intended) control. Sam could see the tension in the lines of Stark’s face; he had seen it in vets all the time. They held themselves in because they were terrified of the destruction they might cause if they let themselves go. Problem was that rage had to go somewhere and, frankly, Sam thought that Steve was big enough to take his Omega’s anger. Also, Steve deserved it in Sam’s opinion. He loved the guy, but Steve could get tunnel vision. Go after your old Omega while telling your new Omega to stay away – not cool.

He watched the Pack spill onto the main floor with these thoughts in his head. Steve had Stark tucked under his arm, which was pretty much where he had been since Steve woke up. Sam thought that Steve was trying to calm Stark and picking probably the worst way to do it. The Omega had barely been able to get more than a foot from the Alpha for the last week without being reeled back in. Steve was obviously using Alpha pheromones to try and calm Stark down and it wasn’t working, which Sam could have told Steve. He could see how tense Stark was and the Omega’s scent was way off. Natasha and Bruce were still keeping their heads down, totally submissive (to be fair, Sam was doing it too and Stark wasn’t even his Omega). Barton seemed indifferent to everything around him. Sam’s therapist instincts were telling him that an explosion was coming and coming soon.

Today however seemed like it might not be the day of the explosion. Everyone was gathered on the main floor in the kitchen when Sam came out of the elevator. Banner was making some kind of brunch food for which he was famous in the Pack. Sam’s expectations were sky high since even Barton seemed excited at eating whatever it was the scientist was making in the pan. Banner was laughing and explaining to Natasha that he had been taught the dish in India. She was teasing him that only he could learn how to make matzah brei in India. Sam was reserving judgement on the dish as matzo with scrambled eggs didn’t seem like it was worth the fuss everyone was making.

As they stood there in the kitchen, the doors of the elevator opened and he looked over his shoulder to see a slim man in a dark suit come out. In the few seconds before the shit hit the fan, Sam thought that he had never seen such an ordinary man.

Then Stark let out a scream of rage that was positively _inhuman_ and only the fact that Steve was already wrapped around him let Steve hold on. “Get him out of here!” Steve yelled and Sam, not really understanding what was going on, barreled into the man, pushing him back into the elevator. The two things he saw as the doors closed were Stark fighting Steve with everything he had, and Barton frozen like he was looking into the depths of hell.


	5. A Life So Boring You Can Barely Stay Awake for It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We hear Phil Coulson's story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK - I hope this chapter clears up where Phil has been and why he is now back. I expanded it a bit when I read the comments. Turns out that I had something in my head, but it wasn't in the text:-)
> 
> I read a version of what happened to Phil here in a one-shot which I stupidly did not bookmark and it became my head cannon. I am ignoring Agents of SHIELD just like the MCU.

The silence in the elevator was broken by the stranger, “That did not go as well as I hoped.” The tone was wry and a little wistful. The man shook himself slightly and turned to Sam. “You must be Sam Wilson. You did a great job backing up Captain America in Washington and I personally am a fan of the wings. The name is Phil Coulson.” And the stranger held out his hand. Sam found himself shaking it.

“Whoever you are, I really don’t think that the Avengers’ pack quarters are a healthy place for you to be right now.”

“Doesn’t seem like it. JARVIS, could you take me to a meeting room somewhere? I am assuming that Agent Romanoff will want to speak with me and Agent Barton as well.” There was a strange undertone to the man’s voice. Sam couldn’t identify it, maybe regret? But the man was obviously familiar to the Pack and the tower since he knew JARVIS.

“I will take you to the training floor, Agent Coulson. Sir retained a meeting room there across from the simulation room when he had the tower remodeled prior to induction.” The AI’s voice was perfectly polite and yet not warm as Sam was used to hearing. Was it his imagination or did the man’s shoulders seem to slump slightly as the elevator called out its warning and opened the doors. Confused, he walked the stranger down the hallway. On the one side was a huge open room that Sam assumed was the simulation room and the lights guided them into a conference room opposite. The stranger remained silent, patiently seated at the conference table. Sam didn’t leave although he was not sure why. They kept in silent company until Natasha and Barton walked into the room. Sam immediately left – not wanting to deal with whatever mess was in that conference room.

Natasha had never frozen in her life or at least not since a very young age. Freezing gets you killed. But she had never had to deal with finding one of the (very few) people she trusted and lost walking back into her life just before brunch. She had also never seen an Omega go feral. And in the kitchen, she had frozen. It was only for a minute, long enough for Sam to throw Coulson back into the elevator and get him out of Tony’s sight. The minute the elevator closed, Tony had fought away from Steve, upset beyond reason that the Alpha had prevented the Omega from attacking the enemy. Then Bruce had started to go green; Steve had yelled at Natasha to take Clint and go after Coulson. She had grabbed her partner and raced out of the room into the stairwell where JARVIS had directed them to Coulson. Now she was standing in a conference room staring at Phil Coulson and, for the second time, in less than an hour, she was frozen.

Clint didn’t share her paralysis. He marched around the table and hauled Phil up from the chair. Phil didn’t attempt to fight although he had laid Clint out in combat before. Shaking him, Clint…didn’t yell. That would have been what Natasha expected, instead his voice was deadly quiet as he asked, “If you’re Phil, you better have a dammed good reason for what you did.” Then in an even quieter voice, “How could you have left us like that?” Natasha knew she had no visible reaction to Clint’s words; visible reactions that were unplanned were not something her training permitted. But inside she cringed at the naked pain he was revealing. And yet, Clint was saying the words that Natasha would never say – it was what had always kept her at his side.

Phil made no effort to loosen Clint’s grip on him. He would have tightened it if he could. He had focused on this meeting for the last 3 years as he waited for the moment when he could come back to his Strike Team Delta. When he had awoken in ‘Tahiti’ Fury had come to see him and leaned in to hug him. Phil had been stunned by this uncharacteristic action, until he realized that Fury was whispering into his ear too low for bugs to pick up, “We’ve been compromised. Stay where I put you and come back only when you see the chance. You’ll only get one.”  He had spent the last three years constantly looking over his shoulder, living around people who planned to kill him. His injuries had been so severe that it had seemed logical for him to be reassigned to an administrative position, but the isolated position, hidden in Idaho, had also left him surrounded by strangers. Phil was no fool; he had snooped as unobtrusively as he could (which was everyone else’s ‘not looking’) and found out about Hydra and that he was sitting in the middle of the nest.

With Fury’s warning, Phil had pulled on all of his years of being the unremarkable man to hide in plain sight. He had constructed a life that was so boring; even he could barely keep awake for it. And he had waited for that moment, that chance that Fury had promised him. When he had seen the heli-carriers fall, Phil had fled back to his assets and back to the Avengers. Who had apparently formed a pack with Tony Stark as the Omega – Phil was willing to take any bet that Fury hadn’t seen that coming. He had been so pleased to find that his codes still worked at the tower and he had asked JARVIS not to announce his arrival. Now, Coulson thought that might have been a symptom of his rebellion from a boring life. He wouldn’t have snuck in without a warning if he had known about the Pack, especially with Tony so close to feral. Phil liked to think that he was polite like that. But it had felt good to be Agent Coulson again and not the bland vanilla executive in the bland vanilla life.

Phil waited Clint out, knowing that eventually that he would let Phil go so that he could get an explanation. The one thing you could always count on with Clint was that he had the insatiable curiosity of a ferret; he couldn’t stand not knowing.  Sure enough after a minute, Clint let him go and threw himself in a chair, gesturing Natasha to also take a seat. “It was Fury, wasn’t it?” The observation startled Phil because it had come from Clint, not from Natasha. Clint raised an eyebrow at him as if he could hear Phil’s thoughts, “All those therapy sessions were good for something. Don’t know how much I learned about myself, but I got really good at looking at everyone else. Fury doesn’t have a lot of people he trusts in SHIELD and the transition to Hill and Sitwell was way too smooth. And he, well he is Fury, but he was too calm, maybe? He was planning this, wasn’t he?”

“He thought that Hydra was close to getting rid of me just before Loki. The invasion gave him some time to come up with an alternate plan.” In response to the looks they both gave him, “He didn’t tell me any of this. He just came to see me in medical and warned me to stay where he put me and that I would only have one chance to run. At the time, I was very badly wounded; was six months in the hospital. I’ve spent the last two and half years pretending to be an accountant on the permanently disabled list and waiting for a signal. I thought SHIELD going down in flames probably was what he meant.” This was said with the self-deprecating smile that Clint and Natasha had so missed. “So Tony Stark is your Omega? When did that happen?” Phil was trying to lighten the mood a bit and give his agents time to absorb his story and he thought this would be a good topic. He wasn’t exactly right.

“Shit! Nat, what are we going to do?” Clint was suddenly frantic with worry.

“Well, Tony hasn’t appeared in the armor so I think we can assume that Steve calmed him down. Perhaps, coming back from the dead when the Omega is on the verge of going feral was not the best idea?” Phil felt himself relaxing as Natasha poked gentle fun at him, although the confirmation that Tony was feral was not good – however understandable in the circumstances. “But he has always liked you. Once he calms down and stops wanting to kill someone, I think he will want you in the Pack.” Phil understood that this was an invitation from Natasha, and by relation, Clint, to come back to them and to become part of the family that they had created beyond SHIELD. He was proud of them for the way they had moved on after his ‘death.’ It eased something inside of him to know that his loss had not taken trust and love from them as he had feared.

He smiled, “I would be honored if Tony asked me to join the Avengers Pack. I think if I explain what happened and blame it on Fury, he will forgive me for the past three years. Also, he likes me – after all, he gave me a nickname.” And Phil felt the remaining cold from the last three years of pretending bleed away at the thought of being ‘Agent’ again. There would be more fallout from this; he knew Clint and Natasha well and they would come back to doubting again and need him to reassure them again. There would be more questions and Tony would have to be mollified. And then Steve Rogers – the man must be devastated by the revelation that he had been working for his worst enemy. It would be the first time in the man’s life that he worked outside of any organization. Phil would need to support Tony as he helped his Pack through the fallout from these events. The Avengers would need his expertise, not as a spy, but as a handler to help them accomplish what they needed to do.

“Nat, you better tell him about Barnes.” Clint said.

“Barnes? Captain America’s Bucky Barnes? What has he got to do with anything?”

Natasha sighed and settled herself into her seat, “You won’t believe this but…” and with a sense of contentment that she had never thought to feel again, with Clint smirking across the table, she began briefing her handler.


	6. Sam Just Wants a Bagel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam just wants some breakfast and he is NOT going to be the therapist for the Avengers Pack. But there really isn't anyon else at the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This scene was written just after the brief sketch that became the first chapter of this story. I have expanded it so that everyone can see just what Steve Rogers is thinking.
> 
> Thank you for the comments and the kudos. I find it hard to believe that so many people are enjoying this story!

Sam was standing in the hallway outside the conference room he had exited hastily when Natasha and Barton had entered. He wasn’t hearing crashing so he hoped that no one was fighting. Of course, he reflected, Natasha was an assassin, so silent killing was probably a specialty of hers. He certainly wasn’t going back to the pack quarters; he still wasn’t a full member of the Pack and he wasn’t sure that Tony was in a state to accommodate anyone non-Pack in his vicinity. He was actually thinking of leaving the tower altogether and going to get a bagel when the elevator doors opened and Steve walked out. Sam gaped at him.

“What are you doing here?” What the hell? The Alpha had a feral Omega and he was wandering the halls? Sam pushed into the elevator, forcing Steve back if he didn’t want to hit Sam.

“I need to check on Clint and Natasha.”

“Cap, I say this with love, you NEED to get your head out of your ass!” Steve stared at Sam, completely confused by his friend’s attitude. The confusion cleared some of the anger from Sam but someone needed to talk sense to the Alpha and it looked like it was going to be Sam. He sighed, “Steve, your Omega just went feral at the sight of someone and you’re on a different floor. How could you leave him? He needs his Pack and his Alpha. And right now, three-fifths of his Pack aren’t with him and you decide to go strolling off? Do you really think that Natasha can’t deal with whatever is happening in that conference room?”

Steve blinked, “The Hulk is with Tony. He took him down to the Playroom, this room Tony made for him. He won’t let me near Tony.” The Alpha seemed hurt and confused. Sam took a minute to remember that Banner was the Hulk and to realize that he really would have to go out to get something to eat if the Hulk had appeared on the main floor. But the Hulk being with Stark did not explain why the Alpha was down here and not with the Omega who must be crashing from the rage.

“And you left? Steve, your Omega is drowning and…”

“I’m not helping, I know.”

“Not helping? Cap, you are holding his head under water.” Sam stopped himself from rolling his eyes at Steve’s look of shock and incomprehension. “Steve, dude, I grew up in a family pack with an Omega; I know how this goes and you are way out of line here. You put members of the Pack in danger and refuse to let your Omega help – which is bad enough. But you did it to protect your _former Omega_! You come back seriously injured – actually, scratch that. _You_ didn’t come back; your Omega had to go and get your ass. And, Cap, you aren’t fooling Stark – he knows that you’re planning to find Barnes as soon as you can and then – what? You gonna bring your former Omega back to your current Omega’s territory? You are being deliberately obtuse here. No” he said, holding up a hand to prevent Steve from interrupting him, “let me finish, because someone has to talk sense to you. You have been manipulating the situation with Stark to avoid talking about any of this since you got out of bed.  I never thought I would say this, but you are being a coward.”

There was a long silence as Sam watched Steve start to gather himself for an argument and then, as if there was a comic strip bubble above the Alpha’s head, he could see Steve accept the truth of what he was saying. Steve’s shoulders slumped. “You’re right. And to make it worse, I convinced Tony to become Omega – although he is a natural. I can’t believe I have been so…”

“Steve, you had a huge shock in Washington. Not just the whole old-friend-not-dead-but-brainwashed thing, there was also SHIELD and HYDRA. I’m not saying that you didn’t have a right to some time before you dealt with the consequences. But, Cap, I can see Stark bottling down all this anger and anxiety and it isn’t good. I don’t know who that guy downstairs is, but he was just a convenient target. Since you obviously aren’t going to let Stark kill him, you need to talk your Omega down.”

“But how, Sam? I mean, I’m glad that the Hulk grabbed Tony since he was going to hurt me if we kept fighting and he would have felt terrible about that. But right now, I can’t even get close to him. Hulk growls when I even come in the playroom. And, Sam, I can’t take on the Hulk.”

Sam did not want to be the therapist of the Avengers Pack, he really was not going to take on that role, but there wasn’t anyone else around right now, so, “OK, Steve. Tell me what you think you want and what you think you need to tell Stark.  And remember,” he said before Steve started, “Tony Stark is your Omega and the center of this Pack.”

Steve blinked at Sam as if this was the first time he had thought about the fact that this would affect the entire Pack. Internally Sam slammed his head into a wall. Had Steve taken any time during that whole healing thing to actually think through what had happened in D.C.? Then again, Sam was probably being unfair; even Captain America had a breaking point. Steve might just have lacked the resilience to start dealing with all the ramifications of D.C. That could also explain why Stark hadn’t started yelling until today; if his Alpha was in distress, he was probably trying to comfort him.

“Well, with Hydra back and SHIELD gone, I guess the Avengers are going to have to work on eradicating Hydra. They can’t be left to themselves; they’re too dangerous. If Tony can forgive Coulson, he can help us plan out what to do, and Natasha and Clint have intelligence contacts. Of course, we have Tony and Bruce can help with surveillance.” Sam listened incredulously as Steve began to plan out a battle campaign to stop Hydra. He had a feral Omega upstairs, a brainwashed former omega wandering around, whatever the hell was happening in the conference room, and he was talking about _Hydra_?

“Steve! Hold up! All that may be true but what about your Omega upstairs? You really need to deal with that first. Have you talked at all to Stark about Barnes?”

“Not really. We talked a little at the hospital but not since then. Tony has been so tense and it seems to make him so unhappy that I haven’t…” Steve trailed off as Sam eyed him, “No, you’re right. I need to discuss this with him and find out what he wants. But I have to find Bucky! I can’t just let this alone – he was my best friend and like a brother to me.”

“And your Omega.”

“That too, but he was a lot more for a lot longer. And I know that Tony is worried about being replaced, but I…” Steve stopped. He was actually unsure how to finish that statement. And that was the problem right there. If he was going to find Bucky, then what did that mean for Tony?  And the Avengers Pack? Sam was right; he needed to figure out what he wanted. Well, what did he want? He couldn’t imagine giving up Tony at this point, or the Pack. In an ideal world, Bucky would be part of the Pack, but how could a pack function with two omegas? The only time he had ever heard that happening was in multi-generational family packs and then the omegas were related and in a large pack. The Avengers couldn’t support two omegas and Steve couldn’t tend to two anyway; and he wasn’t willing to let either go.

What if Bucky was already part of a Pack? Steve had a hard time imagining a pack that would let its Omega go work as an assassin and not send someone along. No, that couldn’t be. They had kept Bucky frozen between missions, so there couldn’t be a pack.  Which meant that Bucky was all alone out in the world without anyone with him Steve realized; a terrible situation for an omega. Steve needed to find Bucky, especially if he had no pack. Steve could appeal to Tony’s omega instincts to understand how awful it would be for an omega without a pack, especially one who was wounded. It would be helping Bucky, not replacing Tony. And Tony loved to help people; and he and Bucky would probably get along well. They were both snarky and both poked fun at Steve. He just had to get them to meet each other.

Sam was watching Steve and he wasn’t sure what was going through the man’s head. He loved the man, he really did. Steve had a charisma and honesty that really drew people in. It wasn’t the Captain America thing, it was a Steve Rogers thing. And Sam had fallen for it from the first time they met. But Sam wasn’t blind. Captain America may be perfect but Steve Rogers was definitely not. He had noticed during the events in D.C. that Steve would deal with any situation, no matter how awful, as long as it doesn’t involve actually, you know, talking. Whatever Steve was planning to do, Sam just knew it did not involve sitting down and talking through the situation with Stark. And unfortunately that was what needed to happen here and Sam would take any bet that it wouldn’t. Still, he was not going to join a pack and become its resident therapist; been there, done that and it had been horrible. As Steve headed back up in the elevator, Sam pulled out his phone and found the nearest coffee shop.


	7. The Entire Pile of Crap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Tony finally have a talk. Omega Brain tries to weigh in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a very difficult chapter to write and I hope that I nailed the transitions in the discussion and how they reflect the various characters well.
> 
> Let me know what you think! And thank you all for reading. Now, I have to figure out why Barnes is outside that drag club.

Tony felt like he was climbing out of a pit. His whole body hurt and it seemed like an enormous effort to just open his eyes. The first thought was that he had drunk way too much last night, but then he smelled the distinctive scent of the Hulk. He was sitting in a big green lap in the Playroom; this had been happening way too often lately. “Shit!” he thought, “What happened this time?” and then the whole disaster unreeled in his mind but it was all cloudy like old film that had deteriorated. He remembered looking up and seeing something and it was like the pressure inside of him had found a release. Here was something he could unleash his anger onto. Here was something not Pack and dangerous to the Pack. He had flung himself on his prey and then he had been stopped. Stopped by his own Alpha! Tony shuddered as he remembered turning all that rage on Steve. He guessed that the tension of the Omega attacking the Alpha had caused Hulk to turn and then, well, down to the Playroom. The huge chest he was leaning against rumbled, “Omega up?”

“Yeah, Big Guy, I’m back.” A large hand appeared with a small piece of chocolate in it. Tony sighed and delicately nipped the chocolate out of the hand. He felt the contented rumble and almost smiled. The Hulk adored feeding Tony and was as pleased as a child when the Omega spent time with him. It was the simplest relationship that Tony had in the Pack. He waited, swallowing his chocolate, and, sure enough, a water bottle appeared, absurdly small in the Hulk’s hand. Tony placed his hand over the fingers of the Hulk to guide the tilt of the bottle. Once he had taken a drink, he took a glance around. Oddly, the Hulk was facing a corner of the Playroom so Tony could only see a wall in front of him.

“Tony?”

That was Steve and he sounded wrecked. Tony shifted slowly and peered around the side of the Hulk. Steve was sitting on the floor near the door; actually at the farthest point from where the Hulk was. He perked up a bit when he saw that Tony was looking at him.

“How long have you been sitting there? Actually, back up, how long have I been down here? And what happened?” Dim pictures were emerging and Omega Brain was fussing in the back of his head. “Coulson? Coulson walked out of the elevator and…I attacked him?”

“Well, someone who looks like Agent Coulson came into the common room and you went feral. I grabbed you to stop you from attacking and you turned on me. Then the Hulk and...well. It’s not unusual for an omega to be tired and kind of out of it after going feral.”

“Was it Coulson or a doppelganger? Or a clone or an alien? At this point, nothing would surprise me.”

“I actually have no idea. Natasha went with Clint to deal with whoever or whatever that was. You’ve been with the Hulk about 30 minutes. As far as I know, Natasha and Clint are still downstairs and I didn’t hear anything when I went to check on them.  I’ve been here for about 15 minutes.”

That hurt, that his Alpha had more important things to do than check on the Pack Omega. Of course, Steve needed to check on the Coulson thing, but being left alone by most of the Pack and his Alpha in such a vulnerable state was causing Omega Brain to snarl. He tried to be fair; it was important to determine what was going on with the whatever that had come into pack quarters. Tony was too tired to have much of an emotional reaction beyond that. Even Omega Brain seemed to have given up. He pulled himself back onto Hulk’s lap and stared at the wall. The Hulk responded by offering him more chocolate and the Big Guy had a point; chocolate never let you down. There was a pause as Tony let the Hulk cuddle him.

“After Hulk took you to the Playroom, I went down to see what was happening and met Sam. He all but smacked some sense into my head and sent me back to you.” There was a long pause. Tony wasn’t sure how he felt now. He consulted Omega Brain, but all it wanted was to kill someone and it was happy that Cap was upset. Not very helpful, although he was sympathetic. Omega Brain took the sympathy as an opportunity to point out that Steve would recover even if he was hit very, very hard. Tony reminded himself that Omega Brain always defaulted to violence and had gotten him into this situation in the first place by attacking Coulson. In response, Omega Brain suggested killing Fury. Tony began to respond that Fury was dead, but stopped himself from continuing an inane conversation with some part of his own brain.

“God, I really have been falling down on the job, haven’t I?” Omega Brain agreed enthusiastically with Steve’s sentiment and the self-reproach in his voice; at least, Tony thought, it was on Tony’s side. Steve continued, “I wanted time to think all this through. No, that isn’t true. I was avoiding thinking it through because I am not sure what to do. When I saw Bucky on the heli-carrier, everything seemed to just crash. Hydra is back, Bucky is back, but not really, and then there‘s you…”

“Is this speech supposed to make me feel better? Cause it really isn’t working. I mean, you just bracketed me with HYDRA and an assassin -- an assassin who tried to kill you and was supposed to kill me!” Tony’s voice started to rise; Hulk rumbled and Tony subsided and patted his chest, “I’m OK, Big Guy.” There was no response from Steve. Tony leaned around Hulk again and considered the puzzled look on Steve’s face. “Did you look at any of the document dump? There was a kill list on there for the Winter Solider and I was next on the list.”

There was a silence as, Tony assumed, Steve digested the fact that his brain-washed former omega was programmed to kill Tony. He started to get angry again. Why wouldn’t Steve talk about what he planned to do? Tony couldn’t take the uncertainty and whenever he tried to talk to Steve, he would be overwhelmed by Steve’s pain and would comfort instead.  In fact, this was the first time since the whole fiasco that Tony was with a Pack member who wasn’t bleeding out emotionally. When he wasn’t at Steve’s side, Tony was bombarded by all the other aspects of the Pack that needed the Omega. Clint and Natasha were upset over the Agent situation (Tony explained again to Omega Brain that they were not going to kill Agent because it would upset so many Pack members but he would definitely consider killing Fury, except the man was dead. Omega Brain suggested Agent 13 as a substitute and Tony promised to consider that). Bruce was just unhappy at all the emotional upset, evidenced by his Hulking out. Even Sam, Tony should be getting to know him and preparing for adding him to the Pack. Some part of Tony’s mind (the mature part – the very small part) had been pointing out that he could start the discussion and probably should. It had said that a lot over the last weeks, but now Tony was actually exhausted enough to listen to it.

“Ok, Big Green, can you swivel around so I can see Cap? I am not getting off your lap and we can continue the cuddling – really enjoying that by the way. Great job.” The Hulk rumbled happily in response to both the praise and the promise of more cuddling and did as requested.  They wound up facing Steve with Tony still curled in the Hulk’s lap. Tony didn’t mind the position; the Hulk was very comfortable and the cuddling kept Omega Brain somewhat content and god knows, he needed to keep the murderous intent down during the conversation.

“Cap…Steve, I need you to tell me what you are planning to do. I just can’t take any more uncertainty, especially with everything else going to shit. I need to decide what to do about Agent and SHIELD or, I guess, without SHIELD. There are a lot of loose ends to clear up. Congress is throwing a fit and you aren’t going to fix that. There are all those good people who were with SHIELD and are now piling up in my human resources department.” In response to another confused look, “Well, what the hell did you think was going to happen? Those people have been working for a corrupt organization; who the hell is going to give them a recommendation? Yes, I spent the last 5 years of my life accidentally working for a neo-Nazi organization. Wow, that will really help people get another job! I have Maria Hill running my security now. And that still leaves the Winter Solider. Are you planning to say anything at any point?”

“You haven’t given me much of a chance.” Steve replied, trying for a light tone. He saw Tony’s eyes narrow and realized that was not the best idea. Scrambling to remember the discussion with Sam earlier, he started talking, “Tony, first of all, I cannot imagine not having this Pack and you as Omega. You’re right, that I have to go after Bucky – he was the only thing I had for so long. He is a part of me, the part that existed before Captain America. Can you understand how important that is to me?” Steve’s tone was pleading, not demanding. Asking for his Omega to understand the difficulty of his position and help him out. “I am not...sure how this will work out. But I know that I have to work with you and that, with your help, we can find a solution.”

Tony allowed his head to fall back against the Hulk’s body. This is what being mature gets you; the entire pile of crap shoved on his lap. And the worst of it is that Steve was not wrong. Tony was the better of the two of them at figuring out possible solutions to impossible situations, like being trapped by terrorists in a cave. He didn’t want to help find Barnes, but he had too much self-knowledge to see that as other than selfishness. Besides, it was possible that Barnes had another Pack. Everything he had found about omegas stated that they have packs coalesce around them with little or no effort. It seemed impossible that Barnes, even as a brainwashed assassin wouldn’t have gathered a pack. Once they found Barnes and helped him and his Pack, everything would be fine. Omega Brain, at this point, began to object forcefully to helping someone who was a) another omega and b) had tried to kill their Alpha and their second. It felt that killing Barnes was the only correct procedure and then Coulson. Tony explained that would hurt Steve deeply, so they could not kill Barnes although they didn’t need to have him in the Pack and Coulson was right out. Omega Brain sulkily asked who it could kill. Tony suggested Agent 13 again and they both agreed on that.

“Okay. The first thing to do is actually find the one-armed wonder. JARVIS, search through the SHIELD dump again and see if you can find anything on where Barnes might be. If he is confused, he might return to a known location. On the bright side, and we need a bright side, I would like to get a look at that arm. Oh, JARVIS, take a look through the KGB files we were sneaking a peek at and see if there is anything in there as well. Finally, set up a search protocol so that if Barnes shows his face, we catch a glimpse.” If he was going to do this, Tony was going to be thorough, and that might have the added benefit of shortening the time he had to spend thinking of Barnes.

“That still leaves the one person we have not been discussing.” There was silence from Steve. Tony sighed impatiently and rolled his eyes. “What are we going to do about Agent, assuming that is Agent downstairs? “

“Tony, that depends on you.”

“Are you going to defer everything shitty to me? God, Steve, you can be such an asshole. I’ll listen to what he says, if Clint wants me to. But if he doesn’t, I want to kill him.” Tony hadn’t meant to say that; that statement was all on Omega Brain. He patted Hulk’s chest, “OK, Big Green, thank you for the cuddles. You were perfect at it but it is probably Puny Bruce’s time now. Do you mind shrinking for me?”


	8. Nothing is Ever Simple and Problems Never End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Phil talk. But Tony's pretty much already made up his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure that I will get an update out next week, but here is this week's chapter.
> 
> Can't believe that Omega Brain, We Have a Problem has over 13,000 views! Thank you!

Nothing is ever simple and the problems never end – that should be his motto Tony decided. No sooner had he and Steve had finished their conversation in the playroom when Natasha had come on the intercom. She wanted to bring up Agent, because it really was Agent, and have him talk to Tony. Understandably, she wanted to make sure that Tony wouldn’t try and kill him the moment he stepped off the elevator. Tony would have scoffed at this – it was unlikely that he could actually kill a trained SHIELD agent without his armor. But apparently a feral omega was a hell of a lot harder to fight than plain vanilla Tony Stark. He had even left significant marks on Steve in his fury.

Tony sat quietly at the counter drinking coffee and watching Bruce and Steve confer. He was still feeling the effects of the feral state and he was hoping that the coffee would get rid of the lingering headache and tiredness. Given the situation, he needed to be on the top of his game. There were so many competing priorities: Bruce, Steve, Natasha, Clint –the whole Pack was on the list, oh, and Sam as well. Right, can’t forget Agent in all of this. Crap! Maybe he should just go back to cuddling with the Hulk. Omega Brain perked up at that; the Hulk was an awesome cuddler and the only person not on Omega Brain’s shit list at the moment.

But while they were all distracted, this was a good time to really think about he felt about the situation with Coulson. He was torn actually. There was a part of him that was happy Coulson was alive and it was not for the reasons that most of the others thought. Agent was competent at running things and Tony could use someone who would help him with handling the Pack. Ever since the scheduling fuckup when Tony had been left alone in the tower, the Pack had been working at keeping their schedules in sync. They weren’t good at it. The fridge was covered with little pieces of paper with notes on them about who was were when and who would be where when. It looked like a bad Matisse collage. Agent would have them all running on a schedule and Tony wouldn’t have to worry. Besides, now that SHIELD was gone, what was he going to do with Natasha, Clint and Steve anyway? They couldn’t just sit around the tower feeding him bonbons. Omega Brain immediately asked why that would be a bad thing.

Then there was Hydra. Steve would want to track down every last part of the organization and destroy them. And, in theory, Tony was fine with that – they were dicks and should be destroyed. But someone had to do the whole intelligence gathering and arranging for the destroying and that was not any member of the Pack’s strong suit. Natasha and Clint could gather intelligence but they had always been told what information to get and where to get it; Steve was great at battlefield tactics but he had never waged a campaign like this. Bruce wasn’t going to help unless forced. But Coulson could organize everything! Between him and Hill, Tony wouldn’t have to worry about keeping his Alpha and super spies happy and busy. Besides, he liked Agent. Omega Brain stated that it was reserving judgement until they had gotten a good scent on him. “Fair enough” thought Tony.

It was good that they had reached that point of agreement as the elevator opened up and the gang came in, or Natasha, Clint and Agent. Tony studied their faces and their scents, trying to get a sense of how everyone was feeling. Clint seemed…better. His scent was no longer one of helpless confusion and betrayal. Instead, Tony thought, he was calm, still angry, but, whatever he had been told, it had gone a long way to calming his mind. Natasha was apprehensive. Tony allowed himself a small flash of pride; he still got a kick out of being able to read emotions on the Black Widow. She was mostly worried about his reaction to Coulson, so she had accepted his explanation as well. As for Agent, Tony sniffed the air as they all stood a respectful distance from him with their heads bowed and neck glands presented. He felt Steve step up behind him and allowed himself to agree with Omega Brain that _finally_ the Pack was behaving correctly.

But, back to Coulson, he reminded himself. The scent was slightly spicy, not the underlying comforting bite of alpha like Steve and Natasha. Instead it was more relaxing, almost like laundry warm from the dryer. It would be a nice scent to have around and Omega Brain agreed, assuming that Agent’s reasoning for making them think him dead was adequate. If not, well, Tony would finally let Omega Brain kill someone. “OK, Agent. I am going to accept Natasha and Clint’s assurance that you are in fact you and not a clone or something bizarre like that. I won’t apologize for attacking you until I hear why you went all dead on us. But I’m willing to give you a chance to explain.” With that, Tony folded his arms and waited for a good explanation.

Phil Coulson tried to reconcile the man before him with the one that he had met before. The manic energy was still there with the self-confidence bordering on arrogance that was what most people associated with Tony Stark, but there was a solidity to him now that had been missing. The Tony Stark before him was sure of his place and his authority. He was speaking as the Omega of the Avengers Pack, confident that his decision would be accepted by his Pack. Tony held his authority much more easily than Phil would ever have thought. During the discussions with his former team, he had marked that both of them spoke of Tony with a possessive affection that he had certainly never heard from Natasha. Steve was the Alpha, but he did not dictate who was Pack. It was Tony Phil would need to explain himself to and Tony who would decide to accept his explanation.

“I figured out later that I was in a coma for over two weeks, so I wasn’t conscious for New York.” He decided that giving Tony the story from the beginning was best; the Omega needed to know that he hadn’t been given a choice to betray him. Too many people had turned against the billionaire in his life; Phil did not want to be considered another one. “Fury used a project code named Tahiti to keep me alive and give me the chance to recover. When I woke up, he visited me once. That was when he managed to tell me that we, SHIELD, were compromised and that I was on the hit list. He needed me to stay alive; I needed to stay alive and get back. So, I have spent the last few years living as a boring bureaucrat.” He smiled back at Tony’s faint scoff. “I pretended that the injuries from Loki were so severe that I was unable to physically be an agent anymore and that I was therefore out of the loop, so to speak. Hydra was convinced by my incredibly boring existence that I was not an important player. When my ‘co-workers’ were distracted by the fall of SHIELD, I activated plans I had made and broke away to come back here.” Natasha and Clint both gave him quick glances at his words and he knew that they understood that Phil had left a lot of bodies behind him to ensure that he was not followed when he headed back.

Tony was regarding him without much expression on his face. Phil wasn’t used to this Tony; one that seemed to be considering him based on knowledge that Phil didn’t have access to. Tony slid off his stool and gathered the attention of the Pack negligently. “Agent and I need to talk. Why don’t the rest of you get something to eat? We never got brunch and, as much as I love the Hulk, his idea of eating isn’t very filling.” Phil wasn’t used to this Tony; one that seemed to be considering him based on knowledge that Phil didn’t have access to. Unlike  Fury, Phil had been in an Omega-led War Pack during his time with the Rangers; he reminded himself that he needed to touch base with Roger in the next few days (Omegas kept in the dark could be so pissy, even if they were no longer in the same Pack). The Pack was divided, Phil could see, between not wanting to leave the Omega alone with non-Pack and wanting to provide for the Omega. He wasn’t at all surprised when the Pack eventually gave in and went to make food. He also knew they wouldn’t have left him with Tony if they didn’t trust him.

“Okay Agent, I have a ton of problems and you are going to help me, because, Lord knows, no one else in this Pack is going to. Natasha and Steve, with Sam the Birdman, caused a disaster politically in Washington and the government needs to be dealt with. Then there is Hydra. Steve is only still in the tower because he’s healing – and don’t think that doesn’t piss me off. I am assuming that the assassin twins brought you up to date on the Barnes mess?” He waited for a nod and swept on without allowing any interruptions. “My company is filling up with ex-agents and I don’t need that many security people. You are going to help me clean this mess up. I’ve already got Sam on deck for inclusion to the Pack and I am adding you in. I’ll cuddle up to Steve this evening,” this was said with a little grimace and Phil thought, there is something going on there, “and get him to agree on the ceremony.” Tony finished up smoothly.

Phil cocked his head and nodded but there was something in his eyes. Tony smiled, there was his clever Agent! He knew that Phil had picked up some of the cross currents in the situation. He had noticed that Agent’s eyes had sharpened when he had mentioned Steve. Tony wasn’t going to discuss in detail issues with his Alpha to anyone, even a member of his Pack, but he needed Phil aware that Steve would be distracted, that cleaning up the Hydra/SHIELD mess was not on top of the Alpha’s list. Tony wasn’t even sure that _he_ was near the top of Steve’s list right now, in spite of the talk they had had earlier. Omega Brain at least was humming in approval; the Pack was expanding and this member would be very useful. Maybe he could help them hunt down Agent 13?


	9. Tired of Random Murderous Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Phil get inducted into the Pack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just my standard note thanking everyone for the kudos and the comments. Each time I read that someone is enjoying this, it makes me want to write some more, so thank you. 
> 
> More and more plot seems to be creeping in and I might have to actually do something about Hydra, but I promise that Fury vs. Omega Brain is coming!

Tony rolled his shoulders to release any tension and carefully began the breathing routine that Bruce had taught him to calm himself down. In a few minutes, Steve would arrive to escort him to the pack room where he would fulfill one of the main duties of an Omega; he would make new Pack members. He was surprised to find that he was almost as nervous as he was before his own induction. He attributed it to the fact that by adding members he was changing the Pack, remaking it as he felt it should be. And he could already see the roles and value that each new member would bring to the Pack.

Sam was a strong presence. His training and experience as a therapist gave him an insight into people that most of the other members of the Pack lacked. He was the product of a well-functioning Omega-led Pack that still commanded his loyalty as his family of origin – that alone made him an anomaly in this group of orphans and misfits. Sam knew how a Pack like this was supposed to be and how one was supposed to act in it. Added to that was his sense of humor and general easy-going attitude. When Tony had asked what he wanted from the Pack, he had replied that he wanted a strong bond, one that he could center his emotional life on. He also added that he did not want to be the therapist for the team. Tony had agreed to that wholeheartedly as Omega Brain started fussing about Pack going to someone other than him for problems.

Phil Coulson, on the other hand, had always been part of the Avengers Pack; he had been the genesis and the catalyst that created the Pack. To have him back was like filling a hole that they had barely noticed but had affected them profoundly. Over the last week since Agent had shown up so disastrously, he had settled in seamlessly. For Clint and Natasha, it had been having the third of their family back – the one they had trusted for years to have their backs. Phil and Tony had talked quite a bit and it had been a relief to have someone who understood the political and social ramifications of the Avengers’ actions and the need to deal with it. Tony had, perhaps, confided more of his concerns to Phil than he had intended. In response to the Omega’s request for what Phil needed from the Pack, Phil’s reply had been “to be useful and to keep the Pack safe.” Tony wondered if Phil had some Omega tendencies, but Omega Brain had rejected that.

At least the discussions over incorporating Phil and Sam into the Pack had given Steve and him an innocuous topic to discuss. The rest of their conversations were fraught with tension. Tony tried his best to respond to the needs of his Alpha, updating him on the searches that JARVIS was running for Barnes and the important data coming out of the SHIELD data dump. The presence of Phil had helped as it added a calm and experienced voice to the discussions over strategy. Steve wanted to go up against Hydra as hard and fast as possible. Tony pushed back, concerned about the political atmosphere and the continuing fallout from the events in D.C.  Phil was like the fulcrum they could balance on; but all balancing acts generate tension. The discussion about how the ceremony should go for adding Pack members, by contrast, had no underlying tension. It was them purely in their Pack roles, the Alpha and the Omega, deciding the future growth of the Pack.

It helped that this was a new situation for both of them. The Howling Commandos had been together from the beginning and no new members had been added, so Steve had no more experience than Tony. They both knew that scenting would have to be part of the ceremony, but the format was apparently up to them. There was a fairly intense discussion about the use of the Alpha pheromones with Tony arguing that he didn’t need it. Steve had annoyed Tony off the bat by saying that wanting the Alpha chemicals was not a sign of weakness. Now, Tony would be the first to admit that he was still on edge and not his usual happy self, but that comment just pissed him off. He did not need to be kept calm during the ceremony; he was perfectly capable of doing it by himself for fuck’s sake! Ok, Tony could admit privately that he was still on edge. The smell of everyone was wrong; he knew it was because everyone smelled of non-Pack. Natasha and Clint were hanging out wherever Agent was – which made sense, except Agent wasn’t Pack. And every time he went near his Alpha, he could smell non-Pack Sam on him. It was driving him crazy, so this ceremony needed to happen as soon as possible.

Fuck! He was tense again. Once again, he began the breathing routine; this time, he began a conversation with Omega Brain. He had found as he got more tense, Omega Brain made more sense. He wasn’t sure if that was a great example of listening to his instincts or proof that he was losing his grip on reality. But hey, whatever got him through was good. He checked in with the murderous lizard brain to find that it, at least, wasn’t nervous or upset at all. Omega Brain was happy about adding Phil and Sam to the Pack and looking forward to all the cuddling and attention that it would get. The whole Pack would be there to witness the two coming into the Pack and there would be a meal afterwards. And Clint had been baking so there would be cake – yes, that is really all it took to make Omega Brain happy. Tony sighed. And then Steve was at the door and it was time.

The basic ceremony that Steve and Tony had agreed on differed from the induction, since Tony was now Omega. Steve had reacted very badly to the idea of Tony being marked in a similar way to induction. When Tony had asked why, Steve had gone pretty much non-verbal and refused to answer. Confused and not a little frustrated, Tony had gone to rant to Bruce who interrupted him to say that the idea of anyone marking Tony like that was making the Hulk very angry. So Tony had thought about the whole thing and suggested a mutual marking. He would not be completely nude and passive; instead Steve and the Pack would mark the two new Pack members. Then Tony would scent the new Pack members as they, in turn, scented him. It was similar to the way friends often greeted each other when they had been apart for a while and needed to be comfortable with each others' scent again. At least, Tony thought, he only had to have his shirt off; although that meant the reactor and his scars were on full display.

Steve walked into the room and slid his arms around his Omega, leaning against his back. He took full advantage of his position, nosing at the blue glands and inhaling Tony’s scent. The Omega’s scent had improved since their talk in the Playroom, some of the hurt had ebbed although it still was not the fully contented scent that Tony had had before the events in DC. Steve hoped that having Sam and Phil in the Pack as opposed to having non-Pack in the quarters would repair the scent completely.

Steve had already incorporated both of them into his life. Steve and Phil were deep into developing a strategy for going after Hydra with input from Natasha and Tony. Phil, predictably, had nosed out a lot of information during his stint as an accountant. Steve’s conversations with Sam were more about Bucky and Steve’s expectations for when they found his best friend. Sam, Steve knew, was worried that Steve was not anticipating the changes in his friend caused by the trauma he had undergone. But Steve thought he had a pretty good handle on that after being nearly killed by Bucky. Steve pulled Tony against him and murmured that it was time in his ear. The Omega leaned back to enjoy the broad chest behind him as Omega Brain burbled about having more people to fuss over and be cuddled by. They walked together to the pack room.

Steve entered first, with Tony following behind. For a moment, Tony had an intense feeling of déjà vu as he saw the Pack assembled in the room without scent guards. But this time, Sam and Phil were in the middle of the assembled Pack. Tony had already informed everyone that Sam would be added first and then Phil and so it was Sam he saw first. He and Phil were standing in the middle of the Pack.  In a way, this ceremony was an inverse of the induction. Here, Tony would scent lightly first, then Steve and the rest of the Pack. The ritual would end with Tony again so that his scent would overlay all the others because, well, because that made Omega Brain happy and Tony was tired of the random murderous thoughts. Not that he had given that as a reason to Steve.

Sam was first as he had been waiting the longest for this ritual. Tony stepped forward and swept his wrists with their gleaming blue glands up the sides of Sam’s face into his hair and then down to his shoulder and chest. Tony then yielded his place to Steve. But Steve and Sam mutually scented; their hands running over each other’s bodies and faces until they ended in a tight hug. When, Steve and he separated, it was time for Phil. Again Tony moved forward; this time he noted the scar on Phil’s chest, still shiny and a little pink after all this time and Tony felt somewhat better about his own scars. This was slightly easier for him if only because Phil had seen him at his worst. Once Steve had scented Phil, the rest of the Pack moved into scent and formally welcome the new members to the Pack. Tony waited quietly; they weren’t finished quite yet.

When everyone had greeted the newcomers, they fell back into a semi-circle, leaving Tony and the new members alone. He walked up to them and this time, when he passed his wrists over them, he stepped close. First Sam held him firmly and gently in his arms and smiled at the Omega. Tony leaned forward and whispered, “You are the first person he has met socially and become friends with since he came to us. Thank you for that and the support that you have given and will give him.” Sam nodded and stepped back. Then Tony turned to Phil. When they were close, he whispered, “I remember how you were there for me and Pepper. You were always there, even when you weren’t. I need to know that someone will be there to help me with this mess.” Phil nodded and then pulled Tony with him to one of the couches. He sat down with Sam on one side and Phil on the other and his Pack around him. And he and Omega Brain sighed and relaxed.


	10. A Strange Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And now for something completely different

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This came out of nowhere but I may develop it more in another story

There was a lot of knowledge in his head that wasn’t exclusively mission-related. He guessed that his handlers had found it impossible to have him completely blank and still send him on missions. Some of this information had proven, unfortunately for his former handlers, useful. There were a goodly number of stashes in the United States where he had found money and weapons (he had also found Hydra, but they weren’t necessary to anyone. So he eliminated them). He was able to negotiate the currency, even if his returning memories were horrified at the prices (Who was that older woman in his mind who tutted over prices and the _lean_ corn beef?). He had clothes and remembered to wash and groom. He still used the heavy black scent guards that his handlers had given him to cover his glands.

So, he wandered. He had no mission, no imperative and it felt…nice. He had vague memories of having nothing to do and that he had enjoyed those times. Now, he moved silently around a large city (New York his memory supplied) watching everything. Which is how he wound up on this small dingy street at whatever the hell o’clock it was watching what his torn-up mind called ‘a beat down.’ It was outside one of those buildings that were covered with neon so no one would notice how shabby they were. But now, with the lights off, it looked like the rat trap it was. The street was still mostly industrial (garages and wholesale shops), all closed and silent with rusted steel gated fronts.

The confrontation was between two groups. One was coming out of the rat trap, the other had apparently been waiting in the street, or maybe in the rat holes – either was possible. The ones from the rat trap were a mixed group, mostly small and thin with one towering black man in the center. The rat hole ones looked like, well, rats.  They had a mean air about them that some part of him recognized from a faraway time and a scrawny blond with a trash can lid. He was sliding down the street towards the rats before he actually thought through the whole situation (he was beginning to realize that not-thinking might be his trademark personality trait). Well, he thought, I guess I don’t like rats.

He was among them before they had even registered his presence. They had been shouting something, but modern slurs were not among his bits of knowledge, so he wasn’t sure what they were shouting about. The rat trap people were yelling back and the largest of them (and, other than the large black guy, there wasn’t much to choose between them) were pushing the smaller ones back behind, preparing to fight. The big guy was at the front and his voice was ringing out. “Well, the idea of your fat ass plowing some girl doesn’t make me all tingly either.”  He also had a baseball bat in one hand – guy has good ideas.

By this time, he was among the rats and they were scattering like, well, rats. It wasn’t even much of a workout all things considered. The rats were wimpy – maybe he should try it with the black guy? Nah – the black guy was funny and he smelled good (query that?). The guy was definitely entertaining; no idea what the rats were yelling but the responses were side splitting.

“I may like ass, but not dumb ass!”

“Boy, I am more of a woman than you’ll ever get and more of man than you’ll ever be!”

The actual fight took a disappointingly short period of time; the rats just abandoned the ship ( _snort_ ). They went back to their holes, down the depressing streets and he let the rats go. He straightened up as the black guy approached him. This close, he could see traces of makeup on the man’s face and there was an odd sashay to his walk now that the rats were gone. The man’s scent was…appealing. The others crowded around him, staying back a bit from the rather frightening man who had appeared out of nowhere to beat down a group of homophones intent on roughing up drag queens. But the big man just strode toward him without any hesitation.

“Well, I won’t ask if you are hurt since it is obvious who was taking out the trash. I’m DeWayne, also known as Lady Vain, headliner at the Strut Nightclub – the mighty establishment behind us.  These,” he waved his hand at the group behind me, “are my background singers.” There were protesting mutters from the peanut gallery, but DeWayne ignored them, focused on the man before him. “Thank you for all the help. You a vet?” this was said with a glance at the arm. He shrugged; most people had taken that as a yes and he guessed it was actually true; he had lost his arm during a war – just not the one most people thought of. He knew that he looked like he was living rough, although he tried to keep himself neat enough to be ignored, but DeWayne seemed more perceptive than most. “You need a job? Cause we could sure use a bouncer with your abilities and definitely with your looks.”

He found himself accepting the hand and the offer. It is only later, in a room that DeWayne sent him to, that the Winter Soldier, who was slowly turning into James Buchannan Barnes, took off his scent guards and noted absently his neck and wrist glands turning a deep blue.


	11. Isn't He Dead?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is snacking in the kitchen; Phil is doing paperwork; and Fury is...doing something he shouldn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK - this is the end of this story and I hope you all appreciate the end:-)
> 
> I am probably going to do a follow up Sometimes You Need Your Family to get through my Civil War thoughts and then return here for a Bucky found story. But I would take some requests in this universe for drabbles; let me know in the comments.
> 
> Thank you for all the kudos and comments! They really help keep me motivated.

Tony was sitting in the dark in a corner of the kitchen chowing down on salted caramel gelato. It was around 2 in the morning and Tony was doing something that he didn’t often get to do these days; he was enjoying a marathon in his workroom. With the introduction of Agent and Sam to the Pack, everyone had _finally_ backed off and given him some space. He could admit that his disquiet over the events involved in the downfall of SHIELD had reverberated through the Pack and that was one of the reasons that he had barely been able to turn around without bumping into his Pack members. Even when he could convince his Alpha to peel himself off Tony’s body, the others would immediately swoop in, and he acknowledged that they had needed his presence. But finally the Pack was quiet and he could smell the contentment that was the uppermost in everyone’s scent.

So he was taking advantage. He had told everyone to leave him alone in his workshop and he had buried himself in coding and designing. The Pack had left him meals, but they were willing to let him go for at least a day before forcing him to rest. It had been wonderful. Until Tony had decided that he was hungry and that he wanted to eat something by himself. He had snuck up to the kitchen and had happily hidden himself in a corner of the kitchen with his prize. Tony did realize that someone (he would bet Natasha) had left the gelato for him; whoever it was had even included little semi-sweet morsels to add to the gelato. But still, he appreciated that he was being given the illusion of being left alone. It meant the Pack was happy and content.

True, Steve was still obsessing about his Bucky. But Sam was happy to deal with that and to take on some of the active looking so that Steve didn’t feel obligated to abandon Tony and go find assassin guy. Agent also helped by insisting that Steve spend time with him and Natasha, planning for the campaign against Hydra. Unlike Steve, Coulson had a fine understanding of the legal and political ramifications of SHIELD’s fall and the possible public views of it rebuilding as a private organization under Tony’s name. So the hunt was neither as loud nor as destructive as any of the other Pack members wanted. Clint and Natasha were still on cloud nine about Coulson’s return; not that most people could tell when it came to Natasha. Thor’s default personality was sunny – sometimes Tony thought uncharitably that might be one of the things that drove Loki to Looneyville. Bruce was in the lab and the Hulk got cuddles which pretty much took care of any complaints they might have had (Thank god for Bruce/Hulk!).

Tony was not content. Omega Brain was still suggesting killing about three-quarters of the non-Pack people when any thought of them crossed Tony’s mind. For a while, Maria Hill took over pride of place at the top of the Omega Brain kill list. Tony couldn’t even figure out why; he hadn’t seen her and Pepper had mentioned her once in a call. But pretty soon, Omega Brain had reverted to type, growling at the back of Tony’s mind over Fury and Agent 13. Tony knew that he should probably tell the Pack that he hadn’t really settled. He was in control – but the fury (no pun intended) lingered at the back of his mind like a creeping tide. He shored up his control against it, but it was definitely rising. The struggle to hide his state was making it difficult to be open to the Pack, so an engineering binge had been indicated.

And it was working. He had been in the workshop for the last day, developing plans for a new AI. He loved his JARVIS and wanted Rhodey to experience the awesomeness that was one of his AI babies. Not a full version in the suit; he wouldn’t trust anyone with his babies, especially not the military. So he was working on how to connect it remotely while still ensuring reliability. He had gotten pretty far, far enough to determine that it would be a little girl and start thinking about names: Cherry, Ginger, Honey. At that point, he noticed that all the names he could come up with were food-related and maybe that was a hint from his body. So he had come up to the kitchen and found the gelato. The hiding part was mostly to maintain the novelty of feeding himself and to prevent anyone from noticing that he was eating an entire pint of gelato.

He had just scrapped the bottom of the pint and was considering whether he could respect himself in the morning if he used his tongue to get the rest, when he heard a noise. Right after the noise came a light from the stairwell. Then there was the scent of non-Pack; really bad non-Pack. The last rational thought Tony had was “That’s Fury. Isn’t he dead already?” and the anger he had been holding back streamed over everything. Omega Brain let out a scream of satisfaction as Tony finally got his hands on the number one person on Omega Brain’s kill list. And Omega Brain went to town.

Phil Coulson couldn’t sleep. He had tried his favorite remedy, but the problem with working in a smaller organization is that the paperwork was much more perfunctory and thus, less mind-numbing. There wasn’t even a form for getting different office supplies yet. He had tried making more paper by recording (in code of course) the current plans for combating Hydra, but that just made him more awake. Frustrated by his body’s lack of discipline and refusal to comply with his wishes, he decided to head down to the main kitchen, grab some warm milk and watch reruns of Supernanny. And that was why Phil Coulson was the only person to watch Tony Stark go feral on Nick Fury’s ass (the rest of the Pack never really forgave him for that, although JARVIS had everything recorded and it became a Christmas morning tradition).

So, of all the things that Phil expected to see when he came to the kitchen to get some warm milk, Tony Stark slamming Nick Fury’s head into the granite countertop was not one of them. He might even have had to blink once before moving to prevent the Omega from accomplishing something that at least 25 governments and innumerable terrorist organizations had failed to do. Since he recognized that Tony was beyond reason being completely feral, he took out his Taser (why yes, Phil Coulson carried his Taser down to the kitchen in the middle of the night when he wanted warm milk). 

Once Fury was unconscious (Come on, did you think Phil was going to attack his _Omega_?), Phil calmed Tony down by giving him the second pint of salted caramel gelato that Natasha had stashed at the back of the freezer (he reminded himself to replace that pint or make sure she knew Tony had eaten it. Natasha loved the stuff and had threatened grievous bodily harm to anyone, other than the Omega, who touched it). The Omega was surprisingly easy to distract once he realized that Fury was nonresponsive (Phil would have given even odds that Tony thought Fury was dead); in fact, Tony was downright cuddly and humming with contentment. Phil made a note to have Fury break into the tower the next time Tony was upset; it seemed like a really good stress reliever. By this time, the other Avengers had started to arrive in the kitchen in response to the commotion. Phil told Steve to cuddle Tony and Clint and Natasha helped him carry Fury down to the conference room. They might was well find out why he was here and get his input into the whole Hydra mess. “Really,” Phil thought to himself, “Fury should know better than to break into a pack quarters with an omega in residence.”

When Fury left the tower, he had learned several important things (as well as having a mother-fucker of a headache and it was hard to see when your one eye was seeing stars):

  1. He could rely on the Avengers to go after Hydra;
  2. Phil was perfectly happy where he was, thank you very much;
  3. Tony was the Omega of the Avengers Pack;
  4. He should never, _ever_ , enter into the pack territory of a feral Omega; and,



Tony Stark was far more frightening than he had ever thought.


End file.
